Nicole Kidman Said Her Orgasms in ‘Babygirl’ Don’t ‘Look’ or ‘Sound Pretty’

"I think it’s very releasing, this film. I hope it is," Kidman told The Hollywood Reporter. "I’ve had some people say it’s the most disturbing film they’ve ever seen.

By Audra Heinrichs | December 6, 2024 | 11:42am

Photo: Getty Images Entertainment Movies

Nicole Kidman Said Her Orgasms in ‘Babygirl’ Don’t ‘Look’ or ‘Sound Pretty’

On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter unveiled Nicole Kidman as its latest cover star. In the accompanying story, the Oscar winner clocked in with her cunty curls and opened up on all things agency, amusement at being memed, and onscreen orgasms. Let’s start with the latter, shall we?

Kidman is currently promoting her upcoming film, Babygirl, in which she goes from a dominant girlboss to a submissive girlboss, thanks to a sexy intern portrayed by Harris Dickinson. Basically, she’s like corporate Cinderella if Prince Charming had said “bad girl” when she left her glass slipper. Anyway, Kidman was asked about the scene science behind how her orgasms in the film differed when acting against Dickinson, as opposed to her onscreen husband, Antonio Banderas.

At first, Kidman played coy and — as the journalist, Rebecca Keegan notes — covered her face with her hands: “I blush, still! That’s insane. But that’s a good thing, I suppose. I’m very interested in exploring those things, but I’m not that extroverted. I was so in character,” Kidman said. “To pull the curtain back on all of it, it’s too sacred.” Keegan, like me, wasn’t satisfied with “sacred” and pressed further and asked about those elicited in her scenes with Dickinson.

“Those ones may not look pretty or sound pretty,” Kidman said. “Or be what we think is pretty.”

“That’s probably why we constantly say we need women in all areas of filmmaking, telling different stories,” she added. “It’s not just to be more fair. It’s actually because it’s kind of fascinating. And for people to feel, ‘I can be who I am.’ I want people to go see this in the cinema, not just clicking on this at home, secretly, watching it in their own little secret way. There’s something extraordinary about seeing it with a group of people.” Personally, I’m not sure I’m prepared to study orgasms with a group of people publicly, but I genuinely admire Kidman for inviting me to.

Elsewhere, Kidman describes feeling “called” to the role at this point in her career.

“A lot of times women are discarded at a certain period of their career as a sexual being. So it was really beautiful to be seen in this way,” she said. “From the minute I read it, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is a voice I haven’t seen, this is a place that I haven’t been, I don’t think audiences have been.'”

“My character has reached a stage where she’s got all this power, but she’s not sure who she is, what she wants, what she desires, even though she seems to have it all. And I think that’s really relatable,” Kidman added. “There are many women who are going, ‘Well, I’ve done this, I’ve got children, I’ve got this husband, and what do I actually want? Who am I and what are my desires? Do I have to pretend to be something else for people to love me?’ I think it’s very releasing, this film. I hope it is. I’ve had some people say it’s the most disturbing film they’ve ever seen, which I’m like, ‘Oh no, I’m so sorry.’”